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Scrapbook-making was a popular tradition in the late 19th to mid-20th century. It’s a great way to see how past Grinnellians commemorated their time here — revealing not so much the official or stereotypical image of the times, but the silly, sincere side that reminds us that they weren’t so different from us back then.

The scrapbook of John G. Orvis 1909 focuses on the sports culture at the time — including nicknames like Tin and Dink and a contract the men of 1909 drew up requiring one another to “establish hilarity… provide for the common jollification… and secure the blessings of a royal good time to ourselves and our class.” The scrapbook also shows what students did in their spare time, from exploring the railroad tracks to picnicking in the grove or at Arbor Lake.